Contributions
2,005 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDJury Trials Proposal: ImpactI am grateful to my hon. Friend. First, we need investment and more sitting days. We did not get that under the last Government—we are getting that now. Secondly, we need reform.…16 Dec 2025HANSARDForeign National Offenders: DeportationWe said that we are determined to remove foreign national offenders from our prisons sooner, and we have. I am pleased to say that the number of foreign criminals removed from the…16 Dec 2025HANSARDPrison Capacity Review: Government ResponseOn Tuesday 5 August, Dame Anne Owers published the findings of her independent review into the handling of prison capacity. The review was commissioned in February 2025 by my…09 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformNorthern Ireland is of course in a special and unique position on this issue, and I am happy to get the appropriate Minister to meet the hon. Member and any colleagues to discuss…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI am very grateful for the question, and I can rule that out. I am happy to have a Minister discuss with the hon. Member what we are doing in the coroner’s court.02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court Reformrose—02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformNo. Absolutely not. We are implementing and building on the work of Sir Brian Leveson, and we are determined to bring the backlog down. It takes investment, it reform and…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformWe must protect our judges, and there is a climate of increased concern about their security because of statements—some of them made in the House—that would undermine the…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI am grateful for that question, and I will reflect on my hon. Friend’s point about evidence, but as I have said, I do not believe that a sunset clause would be right in this area…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI recognise the sincerity of my hon. Friend’s remarks, but I have really reflected on what Sir Brian has said. There is no silver bullet in this area—I am not suggesting that the…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformThe evidence is in Sir Brian’s review. This is an independent review, and I will read once again what Sir Brian has said: “it is important to underline that greater financial…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformOur criminal law cannot be set in aspic. The system that we have now largely came about as the result of legislation in 1971. Just prior to that, this House decriminalised…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformThe day I was called to the Bar, back in the mid-1990s, was a huge moment in my life. I came from a working-class, poorer background, raised by a single mother, and I am deeply…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI recognise that there will be a range of cases beyond those that will now sit with the magistrates, in which the sentence would be more than 18 months and up to three years.…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformAs the hon. Member would expect, there will be an impact assessment at the point of legislation, and full scrutiny of these proposals both in this place and in the other place. I…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformFurther to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Just to clarify, I did discuss these proposals with the incoming Victims’ Commissioner. Today, an event on violence against…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI remind my hon. Friend that we are increasing the uplift for barristers and their fees by £34 million. We have also increased legal aid, with £92 million for our solicitors.…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI will read that letter and commit to a meeting with my right hon. Friend and other MPs, either with me or with my hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Courts and Legal…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI refer the right hon. Lady to paragraph 9 of Sir Brian’s review, which says: “it is important to underline that greater financial investment on its own, without systemic reform,…02 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Court ReformI am very grateful to my hon. Friend, who puts her remarks so well. Let us be clear that there are defendants playing the system, and if we continue to allow them to do so,…02 Dec 2025